Wonders Break Gospel Barriers in the Middle East
In a country in the Middle East, a young Muslim man recently passed by a local ministry’s church site and picked up a New Testament from the stack outside. “He took it home, secretly read from it and hid it, because he feared what his family might do to him,” the ministry leader said. The 22-year-old Muslim had no idea his older brother was also secretly exploring Christianity.
The Power of Scripture Shines in Iraq
The pope’s historic visit to Iraq in March presented massive security challenges, with all military and civil security forces taking stringent measures. Soldiers at checkpoints were instructed to seize the cargo of any transport vehicle, and before one major papal event they confiscated local missionaries’ carload of 1,000 Bibles. “The strange thing is that we met several people while walking in the streets carrying the same Bibles that we distribute, and when we asked them, they said that they got them from the checkpoint,” a ministry leader said.
Victims of Violence in Iraq Find Healing in Christ
A 30-year-old Kurdish woman was one of 6,000 Yazidis seized when ISIS militants invaded Iraq in 2014. Yazidi religion being especially despised by Muslim extremists, over the next three years she was sold to fighters of different factions who raped her and her daughters. When she was freed, her parents did not recognize her.
Families Fight to Survive in War-Ravaged Syria
Islamic State (ISIS) militants along with other jihadist groups have continued to unleash sporadic assaults in Syria, and more are expected as terrorists escape Kurdish forces trying to confront a Turkish offensive.
In a country engulfed in military carnage for eight years, native missionaries try to calm orphaned children by having them count the seconds between the sound of artillery firing and impact.
When Christian workers in one city met a family who had fled ISIS atrocities in another, they were shocked at how deeply traumatized the displaced Muslims were.
When the Call of Allah Leads to God’s Son
An influential Shia Muslim leader in a Middle Eastern country heard Allah telling him to go to a majority-Sunni Muslim country to convert Sunnis to Shia Islam – or so he thought.
Zain was well suited to Allah’s call: Soon he had converted a number of Sunni Muslims to Shia Islam.
Somehow, God broke through to him – and his Shia converts. The native missionary who baptized them is still wondering how it all happened.
War-Scarred Muslims Find Life in Christ
Muslims are still feeling the effects of the Islamic State’s occupation of Mosul from June 2014 to December 2017 after the terrorists killed thousands of civilians, and government forces killed thousands more – civilians fleeing ISIS who were suspected of belonging to the group. Families on both sides of the war who lost their men in the fighting are struggling.
Secular Jewish Refugees Discover the Living God
A Jewish refugee couple from Russia was not interested in hearing more about Christ after they attended an evangelistic event in Israel, but they did accept an invitation to participate in a marriage seminar. A native ministry based in Israel offered the seminar as part of its effort to meet needs in the community.
No Baptism Is Routine in Muslim Country
For a government official of a Muslim country to leave Islam was unthinkable. But he decided to secretly put his faith in Christ. Living near a port city, his position had earned him great status and wealth. He had the faith to attend worship services at an established church pastored by the native missionary who led him to Christ, but he didn’t risk baptism.
Urgent Need to Seize Huge Opportunity
Suppose the Lord found plenty of workers to go into the harvest – and then, before they could bring in anywhere near the full number of the redeemed, they left. That’s the problem a native ministry leader is facing, just as a huge opportunity to bring the gospel to Muslims in Syria has opened up.
A Muslim’s First-Hand Education in Islam
A staunch Muslim in Iraq who hated Christians had a very personal reason for wanting to learn more about Islam. Mahmod Mohammed* was happy to see the arrival of ISIS in northern Iraq in June 2014. Three months later, ISIS militants seized his home and turned it into a weapons storage site. When he tried to resist, they beat him and took his wife. He never saw her again. Because the militants had a Koranic rationale for everything they did, Mahmod resolved to learn more about Islam.
